


There's Still Time

by AuroraRebellion



Category: Fire Emblem: Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken | Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Genre: F/F, Fluff, General fluff, Hi also i love pallerva theyre so soft and pure? Love them, This is just pure fluff between two gay nerds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 08:46:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15554004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraRebellion/pseuds/AuroraRebellion
Summary: Minerva, princess of Macedon, is a very busy woman, even while the War of Shadows rages on.Palla knows her liege well, and knows how little time Minerva allows herself to rest.





	There's Still Time

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in response to a writing prompt meme on Tumblr; the theme was touch, and the prompts were 'leaning on shoulder' and 'stroking hair.'

“Commander Minerva?”  
She looked up from her book, to the young woman standing at the doorway to her tent.  
“Palla,” she said, “What brings you here so late at night?”  
“Just a feeling, I suppose…” Palla replied. “I had a hunch that you would still be awake.”  
“Here to cart me off to bed as you do Maria?” She asked. Palla laughed, gentle like a sea breeze.  
“Not in so many words, no. But it _is_ rather late, commander, and you were on the front lines during the last battle.”  
Minerva hummed, looking back down at the book in her hands.  
“I would rather be on the front lines than in the back where I am of no use,” she said. Palla sighed, and stepped closer to her chair, placing a hand on the back of it.  
“That’s not what I mean, commander,” she said. “We all want to be of use to the Archanean League. I’m more concerned about how little you’ve rested recently.”  
“I haven’t lost my edge, if you’re concerned about that.”  
“I’m not worried about that, either.”  
She stepped closer once more, putting her hands on Minerva’s shoulders.  
“You’re always so tense, commander. I haven’t seen you properly relax for a very long time.”  
“...As a dragoon and as a princess, I have little time for relaxation, Palla,” Minerva said. Palla sighed again, removing her hands and stepping to Minerva’s side.  
“You have time now,” she said. “Go lie down in bed- I’m quite certain you must be sore from how little you allow your shoulders to relax.”  
“Thank you, Palla, but-”  
Palla frowned, cutting off Minerva’s objection.  
“Commander, this army and your people need you at your best, and you aren’t at your best when you’re running yourself ragged,” she scolded. “As one of your closest knights, I insist.”  
“And if I refuse, as your superior?”  
The hard line Palla had her brow drawn into softened, and she put a hand back on Minerva’s shoulder.  
“Then I ask as a friend,” she said. Minerva hesitated for a moment, then finally relented, the defiance in her eyes melting away.  
“You’re far kinder than I deserve,” she said. Palla smiled.  
“Nonsense. I only wish I could do more to help, than force you to bed occasionally… Though, it seems I must have the strength of an ox to even do that.”  
Minerva chuckled as she rose from her seat, tilting her head slightly.  
“I have been known to be defiant, to some,” she admitted.  
“Yes, and dare I say Maria has taken after you,” Palla said. “Did you know she stomped her foot while arguing with Ogma? Not very threatening, with her kind nature, but a fine display of her willpower.”  
Minerva, sitting on her bed and busy with removing her boots, looked up to Palla.  
“Oh? Whatever were they arguing about?” She asked.  
“Ogma wanted her to stay back beside Linde, but she wanted to be closer to the heaviest fighting,” Palla replied. Minerva’s expression twisted, just for a moment.  
“That indeed sounds like Maria,” she said. “I sometimes forget what good fortune it is, that she hasn’t been hurt thus far.”  
“With mages like Merric nearby, I can’t imagine anyone ever gets close enough to attempt to hurt her,” Palla remarked. “Not to mention people like you leading the charge, commander. ...But speaking of fighting, aren’t you supposed to be resting?”  
Minerva’s expression warmed with a smile once again, and Palla returned it.  
“You aren’t going to let me get away with anything less, are you?” Minerva asked. Palla shook her head, walking over to the bed and sitting down beside Minerva.  
“Not if I can help it,” she said. “You may be one of the strongest soldiers in this army, but you’re still a human, after all.”  
She put a hand on Minerva’s back, and both saw and felt the tension leave her shoulders as Minerva sighed.  
“I know,” she said, “I know I can’t do it all on my own. That’s why I must ask you and your sisters for your help, at least until this war is over.”  
“We’re more than happy to do whatever we can to assist,” Palla said. “And you’ll have to send me away before I ever leave your side.”  
“Is that so?”  
“It is.”  
Palla moved a little closer, and Minerva leaned in against her, resting her head on her shoulder.  
...Was it alright, to be like this, a princess and her knight?  
Palla lifted a hand to run her fingers through Minerva’s hair, and she found she cared little about whether it was ‘right’ to be like this, when Minerva relaxed against her at her touch.  
“...Palla?”  
“Yes, commander?”  
“Thank you. For… Everything.”  
Minerva’s voice was soft, far gentler than it was during meetings, or in battle, or even while conversing with most of the others in the Archanean League, and Palla felt her cheeks grow warm.  
“Of course,” she said. “I’m glad to help.”


End file.
